1. Technical Field
Present invention embodiments pertain to thermally treating medical or other items and, more specifically, to a thermal treatment system including a modular configuration with a control unit and one or more modular units coupled to the control unit to thermally treat a plurality of medical items.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Various types of medical items require heating to a selected temperature prior to utilization in a medical procedure. In particular, medical items, such as intravenous (IV) fluid bags, are typically heated to precise temperatures to prevent thermal shock and injury from occurring during infusion of such IV fluid into a patient. In order to provide the necessary heated items for use in certain medical procedures, medical personnel typically utilize a warming system to heat items toward their operational temperatures. However, conventional warming systems may enable use of items having temperatures incompatible with a medical procedure, may require a substantial time interval to heat items to desired temperatures, may heat articles in an uneven manner enabling formation of hot spots, and may even operate absent items placed therein. In addition, the warming systems typically employ a non-expandable structure with a limited capacity for medical items.